Ex-Obama Security Adviser Ben Rhodes on Trump Negotiating with North Korea: This Is Not a ‘Reality Show’

Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” former deputy security adviser to President Barack Obama Ben Rhodes said President Donald Trump negotiations with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un were not a “reality show.”

Rhodes said, “We should all root for the success of diplomacy with North Korea. I think it is right to pursue the diplomatic track given the costs of a war could be hundreds of thousands killed in minutes. I think the questions that we have are about whether he’s equipped to succeed in that diplomacy. He’s declaring victory and nothing has happened yet. We have to see how they approach this.”

He added, “This is not a real estate deal or a reality show. When you’re in a negotiation as complex as a North Korean nuclear program, and a situation that is volatile as the Korean peninsula, you need diplomats. Don’t hollow out the State Department. They have no ambassador to Seoul. Get the professionals in the room to put together a strategy.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

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